| OCR Text |
Show THE CLIMATE OF FORT CLARKE. 327 the changes of temperature are frequently great and rapid. On the 17th October the weather was fine, serene, and warm, and on the 18th such a sharp frost, with a storm of snow, that two Indians were frozen to death in the prairie. The winter is long, and generally severe ; most animals then migrate, and, therefore, the winter Fauna has but a few species whereof to boast. We were told that, about new year, there is usually a very cold interval of about a week, which was the case during our visit; and the Indians have, on this account, called one of their months " the moon of the seven cold days." The winter of 1833-34 is considered as one of the most severe. The mercury in the thermometer was frozen for several days, and, at Fort Union, the cold is said to have been 47°, Fahrenheit, below zero.* The snow is seldom more than two feet deep, but it remains a long time, often unchanged till the month of March-a proof of the dryness of the climate. In the dreadful storms of snow which perfectly darken the air, the compass is an important and necessary instrument; in fact, it is, at all times, indispensable in these prairies. The winter of 1832 was extremely mild; there was scarcely any snow, and the inhabitants did not remember to have had such a season for many years. The Missouri generally freezes in November. Last year (1832), on the 24th November, and likewise in the winter of this year (1833), it froze on the 23rd November, but only in some places, at which the ice was passable two days after. Close to the fort it is seldom frozen quite across, there being, generally, a narrow open channel, which, however, is not of any great length. The freezing of the Missouri in this part of the country, which continues uninterruptedly throughout the winter, is not to be compared with that of other large rivers; for instance, the Mississippi-for the Upper Missouri has at this season much less depth and rapidity, so that it freezes the more easily. Mr. Kipp recollected, in the eleven years of his residence here, the greatest degree of cold to have been 36° below zero. The east and north winds are generally accompanied, at Fort Clarke, with snow and rain : the north and north-west winds are cold. In spring and autumn there are violent storms, and but few days are without wind, which, in fact, is pretty nearly the case in all seasons of the year. In cold winters the sun often has a parhelion on either side. In the spring and autumn, there are often splendid northern lights, while in winter they are very rare, and are most frequently seen in autumn at about ten o'clock in the evening. The water of the Missouri is cold, refreshing, and very wholesome. In spring and summer it is not so transparent as at other times; in frosty weather in winter, it is perfectly clear, as many travellers have testified. The water in the small streams is generally bad, having something of a brackish taste; and the banks of the Missouri are frequently covered with a very thin, white, saline coating. Lewis and Clarke frequently speak of this phenomenon. The soil in this country is said to be, in general, fruitful in the plains; and especially in the valleys which lie * This probably means 47° below freezing point; for if it were to be understood as 47° below 0, of Fahrenheit, it would be 79° below freezing point.- Translator's note. |
